La Parisien journalist Benjamin Quarez says that Everton left-back Niels Nkounkou is in 'advanced discussions' to join Saint-Etienne on loan.

The Lowdown: Cardiff loan

Nkounkou is currently on loan at Cardiff City, where he has made 18 appearances in the Championship so far, scoring no goals and making one assist (Transfermarkt).

He has perhaps not had the kind of impact that he would have liked, with his team sitting just two points and two places outside of the relegation zone.

The Latest: Saint-Etienne talks

Taking to Twitter, Quarez says that Nkounkou is now in 'advanced discussions' to join Saint-Etienne on loan, therefore ending his spell at Cardiff:

"Saint-Etienne in advanced discussions for the loan of left side Niels Nkounkou. The OM-trained defender has been on loan from Everton to Cardiff since the start of the season. He could join Forez in the coming days."

The Verdict: Get rid

Unfortunately for Nkounkou, it does not look like his long-term future is at Goodison Park.

The 22-year-old has only made a mere seven first-team appearances, and has not played since 2021 (Transfermarkt).

If he moves to Saint-Etienne, it would be his third loan spell away from the Merseyside club, and so his future would have to be seriously considered in the summer.

With Vitaliy Mykolenko already at the Toffees, they could look to make Ruben Vinagre's loan deal permanent, providing them with enough cover in the left-back area, and therefore giving room to let Nkounkou move on to a club where he is going to get more game time.